Kate And William's Ski Holiday Photos Melt Hearts

By Sheena McKenzie

PHILADELPHIA (CNN) -- Prince William was pelted with snowballs by his wife, Kate Middleton, on their first holiday as a family of four earlier this week.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with children Prince George, 2, and Princess Charlotte, 10 months, were seen frolicking in the French Alps in photos by Press Association photographer John Stillwell.

Stillwell was the sole photographer invited to join the royals on their short holiday, in a secret location in the Alps.

The royal couple is shown laughing and throwing fistfuls of snow at each other -- with William bearing the brunt of a snowball to the face.

He quickly regains his composure, happily wrestling with the Duchess and knocking another snowball out of her hand.

The vacation also marked another first: It was the first time Prince George and Princess Charlotte had ever played in the snow, according to a tweet from Kensington Palace.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to share new photos of their family enjoying a short ski break pic.twitter.com/p9WU0h2H8E

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) March 7, 2016

The Duke and Duchess are both avid skiers, and news of their budding relationship first splashed across British tabloids back in 2004, after they were pictured hitting the slopes at the Swiss resort of Klosters.

At the time, the Sun newspaper published the images with the headline "Will gets a girl" -- a story Buckingham Palace was reportedly "very unhappy with."

Fast forward to 2016, and the couple are again pictured messing about in the snow -- though this time, it's on their own terms.

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